UU Beliefs

From an early age, I have gotten many questions about my religion and what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. I've always told people that it can best be summed up in the Francis David quote, "We need not think alike to love alike." It's true that this gives a very surface level summary of our beliefs, but it goes deeper than that. No member of our church is required to profess certain beliefs to gain membership--there is no creed to sign or doctrine to memorize. Instead, members must commit to upholding our seven principles...they are more of a "guiding light", as opposed to a standard set of beliefs.

The sermon on Sunday got me really thinking about these principles, and I decided to share them here, in case anyone was interested. These go deeper into what UUs believe and really provide the foundation. So, for all of you wonderers out there, here they are:

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.